DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Welcome to Galicia. We’ve set our scene in north-west Spain, a region whose inhabitants are descended from the Celts. By the mid-15th century, Galicia was prosperous, decentralized and ruled by fiercely independent nobles, knights and clerics. A fine setting for Shakespeare’s tale of a headstrong lady and a raucous knight.

Of course in Galicia, as in Shakespeare’s England, a man’s children were his property and his wife was fully expected to love, honor and obey. Indeed, the basic plot of The Taming of the Shrew was a populist fable and Shakespeare did not adapt the story to undermine its basic assumptions. Still, he infused it with new dimensions, many of them embodied in the extraordinary character of Katherine Minola. Sharp-tongued, selfish and given to fits of violent rage, she is certainly a shrew. Yet she’s also more intelligent and more alive than all of the lesser mortals around her.

Along comes Petruchio, likewise an extraordinary individual with atrocious manners. The time has to come to marry and he seeks a wealthy bride. Undaunted by Kate’s reputation, he sets out simply to “tame” her. Little does he know he’s up against an equal and opposite force. Little does he anticipate how he will be challenged and changed. And though he finally triumphs in this “battle of the sexes,” it is clear that his victory comes by way of his unfair advantages as a man.

Still, despite their bad habits, bad first impressions and a courtship, wedding and honeymoon from hell, despite the patriarchal order of the day and a passel of silly people all around, Kate and Petruchio come to truly see each other. They realize how uniquely matched they are and gradually they fall in love. This is the heart of the matter; because theirs will become an authentic marriage, a marriage whose societal inequity will be transcended by mutual love and the force of Kate’s intelligence.

And so, as is often the case in Shakespeare, we encounter a person whose inner light outshines her circumstance. Through her bright eyes, and Petruchio’s, we discover the improbable birth of a true union. This is why this play is still so popular. This is what speaks to us - through laughter, irony, and warmth - across four centuries.